Almost all of the remaining players have good passive physical play (that is, they may not go out and hit or bang, but they all have good puck protection, board work, drive to the net, etc): Dats, Z, Miller, Flip all fit this bill. Sammy is somewhere between this group and the above group (he doesn't actively initiate physical play like the top group, but he does use his size to agitate). Franzen can fit either group or be soft as wet TP just depending on how he feels.

Let's take a quick look at some possible D:

Suter: Very average NHL size, brings a good mix of physical but clean/low PIM play.

Kronwall: Being slightly below average size doesn't stop him from being the most explosive open ice hitter in the league. Not a lot of physical play outside of that, though.

White: He neither brings enough nor lacks enough to deserve a comment one way or another. Very average in the physical department.

Quincey: Fairly large, has a decent physical game. Unfortunately, one that results in a lot of minors.

Ericsson: Quite large, still doesn't use his size near as much as he could but he is a consistent physical presence/large body. Doesn't bring anything spectacular physically (compared to other d-men his size), but he is a very solid skater for his size. A mobile large body is always a useful tool. Sometimes stands up for teammates, looks okay as long as he's not going against dedicated fighters.

Smith: Above average height, can and probably will add a little more bulk, also a very good skater... and scrappy.

This is a team that is now at or slightly above the NHL average in size, while being considerably scrappier.. especially if Suter and/or Parise/Nash/Doan are added. Most notably, there are no true pushovers now (except TP-mode Mule) and only one scrawny guy (Miller, but he's got a nice big heart in that string bean body). Biggest concerns outside of that are Z (injury concerns) and Kronwall (can be a little bit of a physical vacuum when he's not Kronwalling).

As a note, if nothing else, the Wings have already essentially swapped out Lidstrom, Emmerton, and Hudler for Smith, Tootoo, and Samuelsson. In terms of grit/physical play, I don't think there's a single matchup of players where the former group comes out ahead. The newer group has, just guessing off the top of my head, about 3-4 inches in height and possibly 40-70 lbs in weight advantage.

If some bored artist wants to make me a signature, feel free to cut loose and do so.

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Parise for his size has a good weight but a real enforcer wouldn't have been a mistake in my mind. Especially our D needs to be more aware and willng to deliver bonecrushing hits (K r o n w a l l e d anyone?). Lets assume we get Suter, there is still no way to replace Lidströms transition game so all 5 players on the ice need to be more responsible on both ends, thats not an easy job and will take quiete some adjusting.

We're also younger as well. I think we're even younger than Pittsburgh as it stands right now? I knew a couple years back the Wings average age was inflated because of Chelios and Draper who didn't have as big of an impact as they did in their primes. Now we're actually a young team. Pretty much Datsyuk, Z and Kronwall as the prime guys with Sammy and Bert as the vets. Flip, Helm, Howard, Abby, Smith, Nyquist, Brunner, etc. , we have a pretty big load of young up and coming guys.

We were a top 5 team last year yes, I am serious I just don't see us having a chance against some of the better western teams.
Mind you we have finished 5 with Lidström, Stuart who are now retired or in San Jose.
There just aren't easy solutions, maybe playing a strong defense first tough game, is the way to go we shall see.

Minnesota was playing well and in playoff picture till injuries ruined there season. They add Suter and Parise..they are legit top 5 in west if healthy. And like its been shown many times all you gotta do is make playoffs and anything can happen.

Minnesota was playing well and in playoff picture till injuries ruined there season. They add Suter and Parise..they are legit top 5 in west if healthy. And like its been shown many times all you gotta do is make playoffs and anything can happen.

The Leafs were atop of the East for a while there to were they a legit top team? No. The Wild overachieved. Even without the injuries I believe they would have came back to earth at some point. They are still a bubble team IMO. Suter and Parise would have helped us in the short term, but without them we are better off in the long term. Make small moves now, and the big moves next summer when the legit big guns hit UFA.

The Leafs were atop of the East for a while there to were they a legit top team? No. The Wild overachieved. Even without the injuries I believe they would have came back to earth at some point. They are still a bubble team IMO.Suter and Parise would have helped us in the short term, but without them we are better off in the long term. Make small moves now, and the big moves next summer when the legit big guns hit UFA.

Outta curiosity - who's available next summer?

My only fear is that it'll be another repeat of this summer - nobody signing with Detroit.

My only fear is that it'll be another repeat of this summer - nobody signing with Detroit.

EDIT - outside of Weber, and Getzlaf.

Throw the bank at Weber I say lol. Dman like him are few and far between. It's the kind of guy if you can land to lead the D for years to come, you do whatever it takes to make that happen. Just my opinion, of course. Other teams give their kids a chance, and great players emerge. I say for the time being give our kids a chance. See what they are made of.

Almost all of the remaining players have good passive physical play (that is, they may not go out and hit or bang, but they all have good puck protection, board work, drive to the net, etc): Dats, Z, Miller, Flip all fit this bill. Sammy is somewhere between this group and the above group (he doesn't actively initiate physical play like the top group, but he does use his size to agitate). Franzen can fit either group or be soft as wet TP just depending on how he feels.

Let's take a quick look at some possible D:

Suter: Very average NHL size, brings a good mix of physical but clean/low PIM play.

Kronwall: Being slightly below average size doesn't stop him from being the most explosive open ice hitter in the league. Not a lot of physical play outside of that, though.

White: He neither brings enough nor lacks enough to deserve a comment one way or another. Very average in the physical department.

Quincey: Fairly large, has a decent physical game. Unfortunately, one that results in a lot of minors.

Ericsson: Quite large, still doesn't use his size near as much as he could but he is a consistent physical presence/large body. Doesn't bring anything spectacular physically (compared to other d-men his size), but he is a very solid skater for his size. A mobile large body is always a useful tool. Sometimes stands up for teammates, looks okay as long as he's not going against dedicated fighters.

Smith: Above average height, can and probably will add a little more bulk, also a very good skater... and scrappy.

This is a team that is now at or slightly above the NHL average in size, while being considerably scrappier.. especially if Suter and/or Parise/Nash/Doan are added. Most notably, there are no true pushovers now (except TP-mode Mule) and only one scrawny guy (Miller, but he's got a nice big heart in that string bean body). Biggest concerns outside of that are Z (injury concerns) and Kronwall (can be a little bit of a physical vacuum when he's not Kronwalling).

Care to revise this? we are not yet a bigger and more physical team. yes sammy is bigger than Hudler. But he dooesn't play physical at all. Nor do most ofour forwards. Those that do are old and hurt a lot: Burt and Cleary, or still learning to play young guys like Abby. Helm is not a physical player. he has great speed yes and he checks. but he is so small he is not a player than other teams worry about in terms of physical play. they worry about his speed. On d it is the same thing. E, Kindl and Q all can and need to do more. Will they? who knows....